"Tell me what it was like to go to Madras."
An hour later, Zhao Xin, who was not tired, asked Deng Fei about India in the restaurant on the Thor.
"Local governance is a big colander, and no information can be hidden. The British already know about our secret agreement with the French, but they don't know about our agreement with Mysore yet. But this matter is embarrassing enough, considering the British I think it won’t take half a year to figure out the nature of urine.”
Deng Fei took a big sip of the strong tea and continued: "Their governor is called Hobart. He was very polite on the surface and asked a lot about us. Moreover, he and the group of British people he met at Dagukou before also We know each other. It can be seen that he is very wary of our interference. In addition, he also gave me a letter, hoping that we can visit the British mainland while going to France. I see that they are very interested in the technology of the Thor , I used to ask around when I was in Dagokou."
"The French are in a mess these days. At least don't expect it until Napoleon rises. The era when the British will dominate the Indian Ocean is coming." Zhao Xin continued: "We must give them eye drops in India, otherwise these guys will be If we take action, we will head towards Malacca and northern India."
Deng Fei nodded and said: "Yes! According to our history, Tipu Sultan will die in six years. The next step for the British is to clean up the Maratha Alliance. Defeat them one by one. I say, you Don’t you think the attitude of the British is a bit like the Qin State that destroyed the six kingdoms?”
Zhao Xin paid his dues and said: "'Bringing its powerful ministers to confuse its plans' can be considered as fomenting divisions! The British's current military strength in India is not the strongest, so they naturally have to use conspiracy and tricks to assist them. .”
Historically, during the 92 years since the British East India Company conquered India with force, there was no complete and unified military strategic plan. This also resulted in the East India Company being unable to conquer India solely by military means. Although they have cultivated and developed a military force that can be used for aggression, due to military expenditure issues, their performance on the battlefield is often unsatisfactory. They rely more on diplomatic measures and even conspiracies to assist them, and they are becoming more and more skillful. Looking back at all the wars to conquer India, only the "Battle of Asaye" in 1803 was a battle won purely based on military factors.
Deng Fei considered: "In my opinion, Mysore's biggest military problem is not the difference in weapons or the number of people, but that they have not formed their own military system. They rely too much on the instructors sent by the French. I visited the military school set up by the British for indigenous officers in Madras. Although I only had a quick look at it, my personal feeling is that it is much better than the French."
Zhao Xin nodded and said: "The Beihai Navy has been doing this for so many years. The financial, material and manpower invested in it would scare people to death. Those people in the power plant who did not participate thought that they could conquer the world with the guns and artillery that transcended the times. I was too lazy to follow. They explained. Behind military revolution is never pure weapons technology, the most important thing is the combination of centralized government and finance and taxation! Without enough funds, it is simply impossible to support the training and management of modern troops. The era of hot weapons requires huge funds and These princes in India cannot bear the management costs no matter how rich they are.”
Deng Fei said: "Yes, so I proposed to Tipu at that time to support him in unifying South India. He would not allow him to have a standing army of two battalions at most with his little financial resources."
Zhao Xin took a sip of tea and continued in a deep voice: "Their relationship with the French is too close. Just wait and see, the British will use France as an excuse to deal with him sooner or later."
Deng Fei then mentioned the language problem, which made Zhao Xin feel confused after hearing this; whether it was the people in the special operations camp learning French or the people in Mysore learning Chinese, none of them would be able to do it for a year and a half. He shares the same view as Deng Fei: "cramming teaching" is the only option at present.
"Before I left, Guofeng had already set off with the first batch of arms and 500,000 silver coins. It is estimated that he has arrived in Ryukyu by now. Presumably the Sultan will be more relieved after seeing the goods. What is the name of our territory? ?The name is so hard to pronounce, I can’t always remember it.”
"Pazayarai."
"Forget it, let's call it Pacheng in our official records from now on. It's simple and easy to remember. After the weapons arrive at the shore, they will be placed in Pacheng first. You can visit them if you want, but they can't be allowed to take them back to Mysore before they are used."
"Tip gave us a lot of gold handicrafts. Please take the time to look at them and take them away quickly. I have guards guarding me every day, and I can't sleep well."
"Um."
Zhao Xin looked at the clock on the wall and saw that it was already past four o'clock, so he decided to end the conversation and go back to the cabin to sleep. Deng Fei will have to be busy refueling the Thor tomorrow for at least half a day.
In the morning of the next day, Deng Fei declined the invitation from French officials on Bourbon Island on the grounds that he wanted to perform maintenance on the Thor, and then began to prepare for refueling.
It is said that the fuel consumption of an ocean-going ship includes the fuel consumption of the main engine, generator set, boiler and shore power at port. Taking the Thor as an example, the ship is equipped with a 2500kw marine diesel engine. If it is running at full speed, the fuel consumption will be 488 liters per hour, which is 11.7 kiloliters per day; and the oil tank of the Thor has been specially modified, and it can To load 200 tons of fuel, in addition to supplying the main engine, plus the fuel consumption of other places, 15 days is the warning level.
Normally, there is no problem for the Thor to visit Sendai Domain and Kuye Island, etc., but once it goes on an ocean voyage, Zhao Xin has to go on the field and plan the route and time according to the voyage. He must show up at the time, otherwise the Thor I can only lie down. So you know why Beihai Town doesn't dare to send the larger Thunder to Europe, at least 20 to 30 tons of diesel per day!
In other words, the greater the power of the main engine and the longer the designed voyage, the greater the number of oil tanks.
Even if Zhao Xin could carry it, it would be difficult to afford Kuye Island’s diesel output! If Deng Fei hadn't urged him so urgently, Zhao Xin would never have let Ding Guofeng drive the Thunderbolt to India. This is why he is thinking about Sumatra. If the two cargo ships in Beihai Town want to frequently enter and leave Malacca in the future, there must be an oil supply point in Southeast Asia.
Just when Zhao Xin arrived at Bourbon Island, He Xiwen, who had received the order from the Northern Navy Staff, had already sailed north from Bacheng, crossed the Strait of Malacca, and arrived at George Town on the British Prince of Wales Island (Penang Island). Here I want to meet a Kapitan from Fujian, who was once a small leader of the Tiandihui, named Gu Lihuan, and his nickname was "Jade". Speaking of which, this person was the great-grandfather of Gu Hongming, who was known as the "eccentric figure in the late Qing Dynasty" in later generations.
In 1786, the British East India Company sent Captain Francis Wright to the Sultanate of Kedah to negotiate the cession of Penang in exchange for military protection from the British East India Company. As a result, the British obtained Penang and renamed it "Wales" Prince's Island" and named the settlement on the island "Georgetown", which is actually Georgetown.
Gu Lihuan arrived in the second year after the British arrived. While visiting the British, he also brought several ships of Chinese from Siam to help the British clear and level the land. At the inauguration ceremony of Colonel Wright, Gu Lihuan presented him with some fishing nets as gifts, and was subsequently appointed as the first Kapitan.
So you see, speculation is really a science. It doesn’t matter how important the gift is. If the time is right, you can become an official even if you give a quick rag. But then again, Gu Lihuan is quite capable and has a good vision. Moreover, he understands both English and French. He has a very good relationship with the Sultan of Aceh, Alam Saiyah, and also has a good relationship with the Sultan of Kedah. , won the trust of the British commander. Within a few years, Gu Lihuan relied on the big tree of the British and quickly became one of the upper class in Georgetown.
"Master, someone sent a greeting card and two boxes of gifts in the afternoon."
In Gu's house in the evening, Gu Lihuan, who had just returned home and changed clothes, took a big red post from the housekeeper, opened it and was stunned.
The steward added: "The person who sent the message said that they do not live in the city, but are currently living on a Tang Dynasty boat in the harbor."
"He Xiwen" Gu Lihuan frowned and thought for a moment, then suddenly his eyes narrowed and he thought to himself, didn't this person go to Annan to become an official? I had heard of this man before when I was in Siam. It was said that he also came out of the Heaven and Earth Society. He later became a pirate. A few years ago, he transformed into Nguyen Phuc Anh's navy general. Although he is now an "upper-class person" in the village, who was not poor back then? Again, if you are not poor, what will you do if you are not poor? !
"Well, we're living on the boat." Gu Lihuan responded casually. He turned around and saw two large carved boxes on the table. He is now in his thirties and has not yet gotten married, so no one in the family dares to touch him. So he stepped forward and opened one of them to look at, and he couldn't help but gasp in surprise.
Inside the box was a ginseng tied with a red string. From Gu Lihuan's knowledge, it was definitely the best Northeastern ginseng, rare to see in Nanyang. He then opened another larger rectangular box and found that it was filled with a box full of cut sika deer antlers.
Good guy! He Xiwen actually gave such an expensive gift. What was he planning to do? The British are not involved in the matters in Guangnan. Could it be that he wants to buy weapons from the British?
Gu Lihuan looked at the clock on the desk. It was already past eight o'clock in the evening. It was no longer appropriate to visit the port now. It would be better to go tomorrow morning. Thinking of this, he asked the steward: "Do you know which ship they are on?"
"I know, someone told me."
"Okay! Now take my post and go to the pier and tell Mr. He, no, Mr. He, that Gu will visit you on time tomorrow morning."
On a 500-ton Tang Dynasty ship anchored in the port, Huang Zhongtong curiously asked He Xiwen: "Brother, let's come to Penang Island to meet someone named Gu. Is it useful to go in such a big circle? According to me, it is better to go to the other side of the strait to find him. The Sultan of Aceh bought the land directly, how easy it would be!"
"You know nothing! Can you speak the local dialect?" He Xiwen held a toothpick in his mouth and said disdainfully: "The order from the staff department said that this time not only will the village be bought across the street, but also from Johor. Buy the southernmost piece of land on the island from the sultan. This guy named Gu is a local snake in Penang. He has a good relationship with several sultans. If you ask him to do this, you will get twice the result with half the effort!"
Huang Zhongtong nodded flatteringly, and then asked: "Brother, I heard that boy named Zheng say before that after we finish things here, we will have to go to Beihai Town for some classes in the spring next year. Who will watch over Ryukyu in the future? ?What does King Zhao mean?"
"Stop talking nonsense! Prince Zhao, you dare to talk about it, don't you want to live anymore?!"
Huang Zhongtong was startled, turned his head and looked at the door of the captain's cabin, and explained: "Aren't I asking you for advice? How dare I say that Prince Zhao is wrong?"
He Xiwen snorted, frowned and ignored him. To be honest, he didn't understand the arrangement above. He had just stayed in Ryukyu for half a year, and his butt was still hot. He was sent to Nanyang again and wanted to buy land. In his opinion, the North Korean navy has strong ships and powerful guns, so why should they buy it? Just go ashore and grab it. Anyone who dares to explode the thorn will be bombarded with a big cannon!
As for the Beihai Navy, there are so many rules, and you actually have to go to school to be an official. He remembered the lessons Zheng Wenxian had recited to him before, and he couldn't help but gnaw his teeth fiercely. It was almost killing him!
In the morning of the next day, Gu Lihuan arrived at the port on time with the long attendant who had sent the post yesterday. It is said that when He Xiwen and his ship entered the port for inspection and registration yesterday, they borrowed the name of Wang Zhusheng of Kapitan in Bacheng and said that they were here to purchase spices. Therefore, before Gu Lihuan even approached, he saw a lot of Malay people. People and Chinese were loudly soliciting business on the trestle.
Because he was a prominent local figure, everyone at the port greeted Kapitan respectfully when they saw him coming. Gu Lihuan asked his entourage to board the boat to report, while he smiled and bowed his hands to everyone he knew. Not long after, I saw two people walking down from the Narcissus Gate of the Tang Dynasty. The first one was tall, with thick eyebrows and big eyes, with a Chinese character face, wearing a hat to protect the sun from the sun, and a dark lake silk robe. ; And the man behind him was dressed in short clothes and also wore a hat.
"I'm He Xiwen. I've admired Brother Gu for a long time, and I'm lucky enough to meet him today!"
"Brother He, I have admired you for a long time!"
"This is my deputy, Huang Zhongtong."
Because the dock was too noisy, when the three of them met Li, Gu Lihuan was led aboard the ship and directly to the captain's cabin. As soon as he entered the door, He Xiwen raised his right hand, with his thumb pointing to the sky and his little finger pointing to the ground. He pressed the middle three fingers on his heart and said to Gu Lihuan: "The world knows that Mu Li will fight for the world!"
When Gu Lihuan saw this, he smiled slightly, made the same gesture and said, "We are all sworn together by Flood!"
"Haha, He once heard in Guangnan that Kapitan in Penang is my Hongmen brother. When I saw him today, it turned out to be true! He is from Sichuan and was introduced to the society by his eldest brother Zhang Tinghe in Huizhou in the 49th year of Qianlong's reign. "
"I am here in the 47th year of Qianlong's reign. I was introduced to the association by Brother Yan Yan in Zhangzhou. In the 49th year of Qianlong's reign, I was wanted by the court and had no choice but to go to Siam. In the 51st year of Qianlong's reign, I came to Penang. Brother He's reputation has long been well known! "
Then the two parties talked about their ages, and it turned out that He Xiwen was two years older than Gu Lihuan. Although Gu Lihuan was a local Kapitan, he was still a businessman at heart. Compared with He Xiwen's previous official position in Guangnan, which was a third-grade official, he was not a bit inferior, so he called him brother.
Afterwards, when the sailors on the boat got tea and snacks and stepped back, Gu Lihuan handed over his hands and said: "Brother He, the gift you asked someone to give you yesterday is really valuable. I am ashamed to deserve it! Now that I have come to Penang, if there is anything you need help from, I can't help you." Please speak frankly. I am quite familiar with the local people, and I can speak well with the British people. As long as I can help, I will definitely do it beautifully!"
"Okay!" He Xiwen said with a smile: "Brother, don't be too modest. From Java to Siam, who doesn't know that you have been honored as the first Kapitan in Penang? It's just a small gift, just to express congratulations."
Gu Lihuan said that the third-grade official was just different! I couldn't help but feel a twinge of envy.
